Coffee Experience
Improving the coffee experience in automated vending machines
The Coffee Experience Project aims to provide the convenience of purchasing coffee at a vending machine, while providing the rich experience and the versatility of a high quality, hand-prepared coffee. This is achieved with a new design of vending machines which allow customers to focus on the preparation process, by selecting their desired ingredients, in the order they want. In this manner, the waiting time is substituted by a homelike experience.
This novel coffee vending machine enables users to enjoy and observe their coffee while being prepared. If they wish, users can also take part in the preparation process. The type and amount of ingredients can be customized by pouring them using tangible elements that resemble real containers. The concept was designed after analyzing coffee ritual patterns in working environments.
Result
Video prototype: The true Coffee Experience, user evaluation, and business plan.
People in our study stated that our proposition is fun and that they like it as much as they like to customize their coffee. Moreover, the process to design their unique coffee is easy, and they are able to confirm the cleanliness behind scenes.
Method
After the design of the initial concept, we conducted user research to assess the usability and novelty of our design compared to regular vending machines. The methods used included:
- Video Prototypes
- Contextual Interviews
- Online Surveys
The participants of our study were people from 10 nationalities. They all are living in Japan, where vending machines are already popular. They provided some insights on how they drink coffee and what they like about our design in comparison to regular coffee vending machines.
The proposed business model focuses on both selling and renting our vending machines to interested partners such as hotels, and office building owners. In those places, the end users of the machines are concerned to have high-quality coffee to bust their days in the morning or during breaks. Especially in offices, these machines can provide an opportunity to relax, and talk about beverage preferences with colleagues.
